Touch
by aislynnlily
Summary: Kurt isn't accustomed to physical affection; most people touch him to hurt him.  Then he meets Blaine.


November 2010

Kurt winced as he walked down the hall, surreptitiously rubbing his shoulder. One of the hockey jocks had just "accidentally" shoved him into the locker again. Luckily, Kurt had seen this one coming and had shifted enough at the last minute that he hadn't hit the locker as hard as the jerk had intended.

Kurt sighed as he thought about the fact that when people weren't hurting him, as the jocks frequently did, they were avoiding him as if he had a contagious disease. There were days that he would give anything to have someone touch him. Just a simple, friendly hug or shoulder nudge. His dad loved him and accepted him, but he wasn't an affectionate man by nature. Kurt was more likely to get a "manly" shoulder squeeze or a quick one-armed hug unless there was a specific reason for a longer one. There were a lot of reasons that Kurt missed his mother; her innate tendency to shower her only son with hugs, kisses, and cuddles was only one of them.

Kurt had been shocked a few weeks ago when a strange boy had grabbed his hand and pulled him down a hall, then fixed his collar like touching him was nothing and joined a group of blazer-clad boys to sing "Teenage Dream." Kurt wasn't a great judge, seeing as it had never happened before, but based on the frequent glances in his direction throughout the song, and the nature of those looks, Kurt was pretty sure that Blaine had been flirting with him. And he wasn't sure what to do with that.

Ever since that song and the conversation that followed, Kurt had been pleasantly surprised at how frequently and easily Blaine touched him. A hand on his arm; a shoulder nudge; sitting close enough that their knees would knock when one of them shifted; Kurt was used to people deliberately avoiding physical contact, not initiating it.

He wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond. His immediate instinct was to pull away; years of being treated as if he had the plague had resulted in a tendency to withdraw from what physical touch was turned his way. Blaine either didn't notice or didn't mind. He never forced himself on Kurt, and it always innocent and subtle, but it was there. Kurt wondered if Blaine even realized what he was doing, or if it was just second nature for him to be physically affectionate.

Kurt was mildly surprised when he realized that his introspection had taken him all the way to the choir room. He walked in, sat down next to Mercedes, who smiled and waved at him before turning back to her conversation with Tina, and pulled out his phone. He smiled as he saw yet another "Courage" text from Blaine. He really hoped that they would continue to be friends whether he went to Dalton or stayed at McKinley. It was nice to have someone that didn't flinch away from touching him.

* * *

><p><span>April 2011<span>

Kurt followed Blaine into the living room and sat down on the couch next to him. Blaine's parents wouldn't be home from work until late, so the boys had several hours to do whatever they wanted; watch TV, work on homework, talk. Whatever.

Kurt started to settle back into the cushions, his knee close enough to brush against Blaine's. In spite of the fact that they had kissed a few times since that amazing day before regionals, Kurt was still hesitant when it came to physical touch. He didn't know what would be welcomed and he certainly didn't want to do anything to cause Blaine to pull back from him.

"Kurt," Blaine said softly.

Kurt looked up at his boyfriend (boyfriend!) to see his arm held out, wordlessly beckoning Kurt closer. Kurt looked at him for a moment; his curls were starting to come loose from the gel after a long day at school and Warbler's practice; his hazel eyes were sparkling; and that gorgeous mouth was turned up in a small, encouraging smile.

Kurt shifted closer to Blaine where he was angled in the corner of the couch. He gingerly leaned into Blaine's side, leaving his feet flat on the floor and debating what to do with the arm that wasn't underneath him. Suddenly Blaine wrapped his arm firmly around Kurt's waist and tugged until Kurt was laying half on top of him. Kurt huffed out a breath in surprise and his free hand landed on Blaine's stomach in an attempt to steady himself.

As Kurt started to move his hand to someplace that felt less intimate, Blaine grabbed for it, twining their fingers together and resting them back on his stomach. Kurt allowed himself to relax against his boyfriend, resting his head on Blaine's shoulder and closing his eyes as he soaked up the feeling of a strong arm around his waist, fingers laced with his own, and the sound of a beating heart under his ear. He pulled his legs up off the floor and curled them on the couch next to him. He felt Blaine's cheek against the top of his head and didn't even think about griping at him for messing up his hair.

"That's better," Blaine murmured. "I love cuddling with you."

Kurt smiled to himself and snuggled in closer.

* * *

><p><span>December 2011<span>

Kurt rolled off to the side of Blaine, both of them panting from exertion. He felt the sweat cooling and drying on his bare skin, glad that the room was warm; he really didn't feel like moving yet to pull up the covers.

He turned his head at the shaky breath that Blaine released next to him. Blaine looked adorable; his curls were completely wild, his gel unable to keep up at this point in the day and with the level of activity they had just engaged in. Blaine looked at him and smiled softly. Kurt smiled back as he reached a hand out to twist their fingers together.

"C' mere," Kurt whispered, tugging on Blaine's hand until he grabbed the blankets, rolled over, and molded his body to Kurt's, covering them both up in the process.

Kurt closed his eyes again and sighed in contentment, blissful at having his boyfriend in his arms, skin against skin. He still hesitated to initiate even the most simple touches with other people, although he had finally stopped pulling away when his friends touched him (Kurt smiled to himself as he remembered the big group hug at sectionals a few weeks earlier), but he loved being affectionate with Blaine. Luckily, Blaine felt the same way.

"I love you," Kurt murmured into Blaine's messy curls.

"I love you, too," Blaine answered as he burrowed further into Kurt's side, slinging his leg over Kurt's and nuzzling his face into the side of Kurt's neck.

Kurt smiled and allowed himself to drift off to sleep, cuddled close to his boyfriend.


End file.
